SOMEONE TELL THE JANITOR

By W. Kahiro

No man-made thing lasts forever. But with a little maintenance here and there and constant assurance of standards, most man-made structures will last long enough to deliver quality service. It is in this spirit that I beg that someone must tell our janitor:

-That trash has not been emptied for quite some days now. The stench is foul and the rodents are moving in, in small families. You would not believe the number of bugs that have made themselves comfortable in our room since the last fumigation exercise. Taking in the rodents is simply asking too much of us.

-That even though he claims to have washed the kitchen, the banana peelings and used teabags still rest on the sink, right where the inconsiderate resident left them. 

-That almost all the taps are faulty and water runs continuously in the hostel. What happened to resource management? I trust that this water bill will be charged based on the water that I have actually consumed.

-That turning off water from a tap completely to stop it from running is not fixing the problem. If all the taps were to be faulty does this mean there could be no water entirely?

-That drainage systems no longer function as they should. The washrooms are constantly flooded and every time we make a visit we have to re-live the Noah experience only that this time, with increased risks of water-borne diseases.


-That repair of the drainage system could be more meticulous. Yesterday he fixed the water pipes under the sinks only for them to fall out just before our next oral cleaning session. That should be today. The repair work has become more of a ‘now you see it now you don’t’ affair. 

-That we would have wished to share all this in person but Lord knows where the suggestion box at the entrance of the hostel disappeared to. Rumour has it that it’s a cold case.